Gogh-ing to
Amsterdam
by holly harper
What’s the first thing you think of when I say, “Let’s go to Amsterdam?” Ew, get your minds out of the Red-Light District gutter! It should be squarely focused on legal marijuana, right? Nope, instead of spending your city break in a cloud of “coffee shop” smoke I would suggest trying a number of other fantastic diversions in this Venice of the north. True, there are a plethora of coffee shops that sell wacky tobacky, and also true that there is an extensive and famous Red-Light district for wandering through to gawk at all the scantily-clad ladies and “ladies”-who-aren’t-really-ladies-but-are-somehow-still-hotter-than-me. But Amsterdam is more than that – it’s a beautiful city with museums, markets, history, millions of bicycles, and, according to Rick Steves, is “a bold experiment in freedom which may box your Puritan ears.” Built in the 1600s during the Dutch empire’s Golden Age, Amsterdam’s architecture is gorgeous and the city itself became a magnet for political and social outcasts due to its tolerant nature. That tradition continues today with diversity and tolerance galore. There’s a museum for almost everything here – housing, art, the tropics, hemp, history, sex, diamonds (research the I Amsterdam card for admission to many of the obscure ones) – or you can hop on a boat tour or rent a bicycle just to admire the city’s beauty. Get a map and a guidebook (I like Rick Steves, personally) and have fun. The following are few things my mom and I enjoyed on our trip to Europe’s Sin City:
photos by holly harper and erin bott
Fun fact: Van Gogh only sold one painting in his entire 37-year-long-life – to his brother. Van Gogh to brother: “But, you have to like my work; we’re related.” Sad. Van Gogh Museum: I don’t like museums; they overwhelm me. So this one-artist-focused exhibit that features Van Gogh’s short and crazy life was perfect. One can follow the chronology of Van Gogh’s work, seeing from whom he drew his inspiration as he developed that distinct Starry-Night style. The Anne Frank House: It’s so important to do uncomfortable things in terms of remembering and honoring those who suffered for the freedoms we enjoy today. The exhibit is in the actual house where Anne and her family hid for two years before they were betrayed and sent to concentration camps. This sobering exhibit should join Normandy, Auschwitz, and the Berlin Wall in the “Remembering Sacrifice for Our Human Rights” travel category. Rijksmuseum: This museum is a biggy, so luckily for me it was undergoing major renovations when we visited making it manageable. Pop in to see Rembrandt, Vermeer, and pals. As an aside, you should read vincent’s self portrait in felt hat can the book The Girl with the Pearl be found in the rijksmuseum Earring about Vermeer’s painting of the same name (which I found out is actually in The Hague, doh!, but still a great story about life in 1660s Holland). Canal Boat Tour: Hop on a cheesy boat to see Amsterdam from the water, rest your feet, and learn trivia about this canal-laden city. We went on Rondvaart Kooij found at the corner of Spui and Rokin streets, it was the cheapest, at about 8 Euro. Shopping! There are a ton of tourist shops where you can get “tasteful” t-shirts and clogs made of shoe shopping! plastic, but Mom and I found a couple of pretty neat shopping venues off the main drag. First, the Singel flower market is a nice place to pick up your black tulip bulbs for the fall planting. It’s on the Singel canal near the Mint Tower. The Albert Cuyp street market is full of vintage clothing, spice shops, antiques, food, and bike accessories for your less-traditional souvenir shopping. Take tram 16 or 24 and to Albert Cuypstraat. Bonus: It’s near the Heineken Experience exhibit if you need a pint after shopping. There is also the Waterlooplein flea market near the opera house and a shopping mall in the old Post Office building just behind the Palace in Dam Square.
Where to eat? Try Indonesian – The Netherlands was a spice-trading empire at one time, and Indonesian food to Holland is like Indian food to Britain. Try Aneka Rasa (Warmoesstraat 25 in the Red Light) where a menu with sampling of little dishes is around 20 Euro per person. Sandwiches – Amsterdam isn’t cheap, but finding a cheap sandwich is pretty easy. Try Broodje Bert (Singel 321, west of Dam square. Breakfast – The charming Café Bakkerswinkel at Warmoestraat 69 is just up the street from Aneka Rasa. Great for breakfast, pastries, coffee and tea. Dutch Pancakes – The Pancake Bakery serves Dutch pancakes canalside at Prinsengracht 191, near the Anne Frank House. Or just pop into one of the many bakeries to pick up a sweet waffle or tasty pastry.
How to get there? Fly EasyJet from Stansted directly to Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport. There’s a direct train from the airport to Amsterdam’s Central Station for about 4 Euro. Drive to Harwich, about two hours from base (map your route out in advance, there are reports of GPS glitches) and take an overnight ferry to the Hook of Holland (which is about an hour from Amsterdam). The ferry cost upwards of 125 Pounds for a one way, overnight ticket. Included in this cost is a cozy little cabin with bunkbeds for the sixhour sail. The overnight ferry is more like a cruise ship - there are multiple dining rooms, a cinema, an arcade and shops on board. The Botts did this trip via the Stenaline ferry. From the Hook of Holland port, take the main highways into Amsterdam. Check out www.amsterdam.info/parking for a list of parking lots and their prices.
Fun fact: Tulips aren’t even Dutch! They were imported from Turkey in the 1590s. Staying in the Red Light: I wish I’d had my camera out when the taxi pulled up to our hotel smack in the middle of the Red Light District to capture the look of horror on my mother’s face. Our hotel was conveniently located between the Banana Bar and a porn shop. Being a brave and naïve tourist, I thought, “When in Rome...,” but Mom was about tulips in early May to panic. Fortunately, my guidebook has never led me astray, and we were pleasantly surprised to meet our hostess, a sweet woman who runs Hotel Royal Taste (www.hotelroyaltaste.nl) who assured us the room was perfect and the location interesting, but very safe. We had a canal view room (a little loud at night), but nice to watch Days of our Prostitutes. If you’re brave, stay at Royal Taste, and if you’re not you must at least stop by their pub to enjoy mine and Mom’s favorite pastime – messing with tourists. The pub has two big windows which we sat in to people-watch. As you may know, windows are also where the ladies show off their wares. As the tourists cruise down Oudezijds Acterburgwal with their necks craned to watch the women in the windows next door, they were often surprised to see Mom and I sipping our drinks in windows of our own. We got a lot of laughs and smiles as we waved at tourists and watched the action across the street.
Fun fact: The average John spends about 20 minutes in the room with the curtains closed. Mom was timing them.
How Erin Bott did it: Jonathan and I went to Amsterdam via the Stenaline Ferry from Harwich on April 30 last year. I would highly dissuade anyone from going to Amsterdam then, as it is Queen’s Day (Koninginnedag) and the city is packed with drunken Dutch. It was crowded, hard to sightsee, and many restaurants were closed. We enjoyed the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House. It’s easy to walk to the main sights. We were tempted to tour the Heineken Brewery, but the cafes serving Hoegaarden and other hefe’s were too tempting. Our favorite part was definitely just observing people in the Red Light District. After Amsterdam, Jonathan and I road-tripped to Brugge via Leiden (extremely charming and full of tulips) and Delft (home of the expensive, and world-renowned Delft blue and white pottery). The tulips in Leiden were amazing, and free! Head to the tourist information center and they’ll give you a driving map. (We also learned that the pilgrims settled in Leiden for over 15 years before sailing for Plymouth). We then headed to Brugge and next took the ferry from Calais back to Dover. The whole trip was under a week and we felt like we had enough time to do everything we’d planned. A weekend is great for Amsterdam, but I loved the countryside. You really get to experience the Dutch culture in the smaller towns. Amsterdam is a beautiful city, but most cities blend together for me. I will never forget Leiden or Delft because, to me, they better represent the Netherlands.
Other things you might enjoy Cycling: The Netherlands is rumored to have 15 million residents and 12 million bikes. Walk carefully in the city making a note of the special cycle lanes which often have their own signals or you might get run down. You can rent a bike at the main station from MacBike and cruise all around the city, or even down the Amstel river and into the Dutch countryside. Having Sex Outdoors: It is now legal to have sex al fresco in Vondelpark, the city’s central outdoor greenspace, after dark. Why do I keep picturing the rest area scene in Something About Mary? Seeing the Countryside: My mom’s friend conveniently lives in the little town of Hoorn north of Amsterdam. We were able to visit a small Dutch town, have some lunch, see the inland ocean, boats, fields, and some windmills. Try Hoorn or Haarlem for lodging and take a train into the city. Also, if you go in the springtime, you can tour the tulip fields. See what Erin Bott had to say (above).